Official BYC Poll: The Worst Predator

[382767]

All of our casualties have been to an opossum.

 

[382767]

I caught 2 possums in a live animal trap and released them 5 miles from where I live. I lost a baby chick, but read that possums only go after eggs and baby chicks. Neither of the possums I caught harmed or bothered my grown hens at all. I live in suburban Oakland (25 miles east) in a housing tract. Don't know where the possums came from...probably the sewer, though there are acres of vacant land with some trees and bushes about 500 feet from my house.

 

[herman 48]

Why didn't you kill them? There is no shortage of them.

 

[Bronco rob 94]

i lost all of my second genaiton two a racoon

 

[nomirawr1]

We don't have coons, opossums, minks, mountain lions, bears, coyote, foxes, eagles, owls, snakes, bobcats or skunks...

The worst we have here is really rats, possums & hedgehogs taking the odd egg, or a domestic cat/dog taking the odd chick. Pretty rare though.
Haven't lost any of ours to anything yet - touch wood - and they free range in the yard. Don't expect to either....

 

[jcoz]

Fisher's/Fisher Cat should be on the list. HUGE problem up here.

 

[Akrnaf2]

I don't live the American continent so axept of red foxes and some birds of prey we don't have to deal with your predators there BUT we have you deal with this:

The common or Egyptian mongus Herpestes ichneumon.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_mongoose

This predators if it can get in your coop, they will kill ALL THE BIRDS inside. I have a freind that have lost more then 20 chickens in one attack!
Another Israeli forum member in one of the forums I am in, have lost 40 birds including adult peafowls, to 3 of them.

 

[itsasmallfarm]

I don't live the American continent so axept of red foxes and some birds of prey we don't have to deal with your predators there BUT we have you deal with this:
View attachment 1115061
The common or Egyptian mongus Herpestes ichneumon.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_mongoose

This predators if it can get in your coop, they will kill ALL THE BIRDS inside. I have a freind that have lost more then 20 chickens in one attack!
Another Israeli forum member in one of the forums I am in, have lost 40 birds including adult peafowls, to 3 of them.

Ouch sorry for the loss. That animal/mongus looks a lot like a fisher. But looks mean to me.

 

[Akrnaf2]

Ouch sorry for the loss. That animal/mongus looks a lot like a fisher. But looks mean to me.

Yes they look similar but they are from different families of predators.
I don't think that animals are mean, they just behaving according to their nature and instincts.

 

[Birdsong 82]

I lost one of my young hens their first night in the run to a raccoon. It tried to get a second one through the fencing in ripped his entire leg off. And she didn't make it either. Was the saddest thing ever I don't even like to see a picture of a raccoon